Residents of Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara suffered major losses when heavy winds sent two houses crashing to the ground and destroyed the roofs of others around 3 pm yesterday.
It was scary as zinc sheets were ripped off the roofs and were sent flying around the village, some of which landed on electrical wires. Several parts of the coast experienced high winds with heavy rain yesterday afternoon. Power outages were reported in some areas as a result.
When Stabroek News visited Cornelia Ida around 5 pm residents were busy trying to repair their roofs so they could stay safely in their homes and prevent further damage from the rain.
Rhonda Jackson who suffered the heaviest losses was in total shock when she saw the ruins of her new two-bedroom house.
The roof was off and fell over the drain while some boards landed in the drain and the entire house was broken to pieces.
Jackson who had waited a long time to own her house said she only started construction of the building two months ago and was looking forward to moving in soon.
She could not finish the building completely because her husband became sick and was hospitalized.
She is currently renting a house and was distressed about where to find the money to rebuild. Jackson said it was “hard to start building in the first place.” The woman learnt about the destruction when a neighbour went to inform her.
Nearby, Ganindra known as ‘Robin’ was also counting his losses after the top of his veranda was blown off and the roof and PVC ceiling were badly damaged. Water also splashed into his house and damaged electrical appliances.
He recalled that he heard a “loud noise coming from the other scheme” and when he looked out he saw zinc sheets flying in the area.
He became scared and screamed for his family to get out of the house to safety. The next thing he knew the wind swept over his house.
The man told this newspaper that the GPL main wire was “pulled out and I’m surprised that up to now they can’t come and fix the wires. But yet they put on the current so fast although zinc sheets are hanging on the wires.”
Another house belonging to Salim Baksh fell off its pillars and was flat on the ground. The house was unoccupied.
Over in the other scheme, Ramnauth was busy trying to renovate his badly damaged roof. Several men were there helping him.
The heavy rain also resulted in water pouring into his house, damaging his television set and other articles and soaking his other belongings.
